Colbert County

(Reverse)

Civil War Skirmish at the Barton Cemetery

  Bullet-marked tombstones in this cemetery show evidence of a brisk skirmish here October 26, 1863, when Gen. P.J. Osterhaus' first division of Sherman's Corps came under fire from Gen. S.D. Lee's Confederate troop. CSA artillery on a hill near a frame church (now Zion No. 1) opened fire at dawn and Union artillery replied from the cemetery. CSA forces retreated to Little Bear Creek. USA forces briefly occupied Tuscumbia, then retreated to Cherokee and abandoned attempt to advance along the railroad.

First Baptist Church

This congregation was organized in July 1823 as Concord Church, later known as Union Church, then as Tuscumbia Baptist. Jeremiah Burns was the first pastor. It began meeting at this site about 1845 in a plain wooden building. The New England-style sanctuary of the present building was erected in 1892. The belfry and rear cross-section, including two balconies, were added about 1903. The entrance was moved from the belfry to the center and a third balcony added in 1954. The stained glass Gothic windows were imported from Czechoslovakia about 1906. The original pipes from the early Moller organ are still visible from the cross-shaped sanctuary and heard in worship today. The Educational Building (north) was built in 1962 and the Fellowship Hall (south) in 1974. The church is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Side one
First Presbyterian Church

First Presbyterian Church was organized April 13, 1824, by Scots-Irish settlers. The sanctuary, erected in 1827, is the oldest in continuous use in Alabama. Its Georgian Gothic style remains essentially unchanged. The brick walls are laid in Flemish Bond and massive hand-hewn beams are joined with wooden pegs. A rare feature is the original wrap-around slave gallery, supported by two levels of columns. The walls were reinforced with iron bars after the 1874 tornado and stained glass windows were added in 1904. The church is listed in the Historic American Buildings Survey and the National Register of Historic Places.

Erected by the First Presbyterian Church, Tuscumbia, Alabama and the Colbert County Historical Landmarks Foundation

Side two
First Presbyterian Church

Notable Tuscumbians who were members include: the Arthur Keller family, whose infant daughter Helen Keller was baptized here in 1880; Brig. Gen. James Deshler, CSA; Alabama Governor Robert Burns Lindsay; Judge John Anthony Steele, delegate to the State Secession Convention; and Thomas Limerick, first mayor of Tuscumbia and original trustee of the church. Revivals led by Presbyterian evangelist Daniel Baker in 1839 and 1843 added over 100 members. Committed to Biblical and confessional belief and a deep desire to share grace and truth to all, the church has been a recipient of God’s grace working in godly leaders.

Erected by the First Presbyterian Church, Tuscumbia, Alabama and the Colbert County Historical Landmarks Foundation

Howell Thomas Heflin
1921 - 2005

Howell Thomas Heflin retired from a lifetime of distinguished public service in 1997, having served Alabama in the U.S. Senate for three consecutive terms. There he was known as a national leader on judicial, agricultural, defense, and space issues. As Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court from 1971 to 1977, he modernized the state’s court system. Heflin was a Marine Corps officer during World War II, attaining the rank of major and awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart. Howell T. Heflin’s legacy – his words, life, character, and progressive leadership – serves as a compass for leaders seeking racial reconciliation and harmony on Alabama and the nation.

Side 1

Howell & Graves School

Muscle Shoals City was incorporated on April 24, 1923. Among the leading developers were New York realtors A.L. Howell and C.T. Graves. Their interest in Muscle Shoals was inspired by the vision of Henry Ford to use power from Wilson Dam and the Nitrate Plants to “employ one million workers and build a city 75 miles wide.” Although Ford’s vision remained unfulfilled, Howell & Graves helped develop the town by building the first City Hall, bungalows, a service station, and Howell & Graves School. Cast iron street lights, fire hydrants, and drinking fountains were placed along Wilson Dam Road near the school. The streets, constructed through farmland, were edged with concrete curbing and sidewalks. Other real estate speculators also came into the area buying land, parceling it in 25-foot lots and selling them, sight unseen, to people across the United States and from foreign countries.

Side 2

Howell & Graves School

The Howell & Graves Junior High School was designed by architect Harry J. Frahn and built in 1927 in the neoclassical style and the neo-Tudor Gothic tradition, symbolically associated with the Ivy League schools. Decorative brick work, which originally crowned the building, gave it a castle-like appearance. It was known as one of the finest buildings in the region and was often the scene of political rallies and other special events. The state-of-the-art auditorium, with a seating capacity of 500, had elevated floors and opera-style seating. The stage had hand-painted canvas backdrops and lighting. In 1959, for a sum of $300, this school was transferred from the Colbert County School System to the newly formed Muscle Shoals City Board of Education.

St. John's Episcopal Church

  This congregation was organized in the 1830s, with services being held in private homes and the Methodist meeting house. The present building was first used in October 1852 and completed the following year. During the Civil War, Union troops occupied the church and destroyed some of the parish records. St. John's is an early example of the "Carpenter's Gothic" style popular for many Episcopal churches during the mid-19th century. Damaged by a tornado in 1874, the church afterward was refurbished and strengthened with iron tie-rods spanning the nave. Memorial windows also were installed. Concrete buttresses were added in 1956. A tall spire originally topped the belltower.

Side 1
Jackson’s Military Road

After the Battle of New Orleans in 1815, General Andrew Jackson proposed this road as a shorter and improved route for military movements between Nashville and New Orleans. The U.S. War Department authorized Jackson to appoint an engineer and procure equipment on August 15, 1816 and Congress appropriated $5,000 to begin construction. The Military Road was built by about 300 American soldiers over a three-year period at a construction cost of $300,000. When completed on May 17, 1820, the new road was 483 miles long and 200 miles shorter than the old Natchez Trace route. Crossing the Tennessee River at Florence, it entered Sheffield (first known as York Bluff) at “Jackson Hollow.” The road then passed near Atlanta and Columbia Avenues as it moved southwest. The Military Road entered Tuscumbia on Dickson Street and passed near this site.

Side 2
Jackson’s Military Road

From this location, the Military Road continued south and crossed Spring Creek, then ascended Colbert Mountain, and passed just west of present-day Littleville. It proceeded to Good Spring in Franklin County, and on through Russellville. Jackson Highway (old U.S.#43), built in the 1920s, followed the same basic route. The nearby single-pen hewn-log cabin is a vestige of Tuscumbia’s pioneer period. It originally stood on the opposite side of the street and reputedly served as a stagecoach stop on the Military Road. Dickson Street was named for early Tuscumbia settler Michael Dickson. A U.S. Mail line was established and John Donley Sr. of Tuscumbia was given the contract for carrying the mail. Stagecoaches could travel the Military Road in 17 days and stands were built along the way to accommodate travelers. The road became the route over which pioneers poured into northwest Alabama and Mississippi.

The Old Brick Presbyterian Church
1820

  Old Brick Church began in 1820 as the Mt. Pleasant Cumberland Presbyterian Church and met in a frame building which burned in 1824. The present building has undergone few changes since its construction in 1828 when the congregation was officially chartered. In 1906 the congregation joined with what became the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. It officially took its present name in 1961. In 1983 Old Brick became part of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Sunday services have been conducted regularly since 1820, except during the Civil War.

Tuscumbia Railroad–First Railroad West of Alleghenies

  1832: Began here; completed to Decatur, 45 miles east, in 1834. Cotton shipped by this line around nearby Muscle Shoals, then by boat down Tennessee-Mississippi River to world markets. 1851: Expanded to Memphis-Charleston Railroad. A vital line in the Civil War, it changed hands several times. 1898: Became part of Southern Railway.

Village One

 In 1918, during World War I, the U.S. Government built this unique village of 85 bungalows, school, and officers barracks to house personnel at nearby Nitrate Plant #1. Prefabricated and standard size materials were used in construction along with red tile roofs and stucco exteriors. Streets were laid out in an unusual "Liberty Bell" design.
Reverse
Village One

 The village was owned by TVA from 1933-1949. Its employees occupied the houses and their children attended a progressive school in the barracks building 1934-1941. TVA sold the houses at auction and gave and the school and parks to the City of Sheffield in 1949.

Side 1

Side 2

William Winston Home

  Construction on the home which became the center building of Deshler High School was begun in 1824 by Clark T. Barton, William Winston purchased and completed the Georgian-style dwelling in 1833. The largest remaining antebellum house in Tuscumbia, it features a winding staircase, eight fireplaces, and ten original closets along with an inscription on the cellar wall written during the Union occupation saying: "It is a damn shame to destroy this mansion." Original log kitchen placed at N.W. rear corner to avoid having fire too close to the house. Listed on the National Register of Historic places in 1982.
  House and property purchased by the city of Tuscumbia in 1948 for site of new Deshler campus, relocating from property bequeathed by Major David Deshler (from his Main St. residence, 3 blocks north) memorializing his son, Brig. Gen. James Deshler, C.S.A., killed leading charge at Battle of Chickamauga, Sept. 20, 1863.
  William Winston (1789-1857)-father of Gov. John Anthony Winston; grandfather of Maud Lindsey, famed educator and author of children's books; father-in-law of Robert Burns, only foreign-born governor of Alabama. Winston family cemetery located approximately one mile N.W. of the house.

Yellow Fever Epidemic 1878

  Responsible for taking 31 lives in Tuscumbia. Citizens Relief Committee included: F. H. Aydlett, H. M. Finley, J. L. Davis, James Jackson Chmm., J. W. Rand, Jr., P. A. Ross, F. W. Ross, J. N. Sampson, Sec., and C. A. Womble.
  This committee, together with volunteers, both white and black–assisted by trained nurses brought from Memphis, Tennessee–nursed the sick, carried supplies, prepared the bodies, dug graves, and buried the dead.
  Doctors serving around the clock: Robert T. Abernathy, Samuel J. Cooper, William C. Cross, William Desprez (who gave his life), and E. P. Rand.
  The 31 Victims of Yellow Fever who died in Tuscumbia in 1878 included: Crabtree Belcher, Mrs. Amy Boldman, Anna C. Christian, Mr. Clark, W. A. Clark, DeWitt Cooper, Dr. William Desprez, Samuel Finley, Mrs. W. A. Gilbert, Mrs. Bettie Halpine, Miss Bartie Jones, Mrs. W. H. Jones, L. King, F. Manush and wife, Tom Morton, Alexander Newsome, Sandy Osborne, Edward Prout, Mrs. G. T. Rather, Mrs. F. A. Ross, Helen Smoot, Mrs. T. L. Smoot, Mr. and Mrs. W. L. Stamps, Robert Ventress, Mervyn Warren, Charles Williams, Mrs. Yohnka and child, William Young.

• Newspapers on microfilm at ADAH
• Local Government Records on microfilm at ADAH
• Vital records on microfilm at ADAH
• County historical and genealogical societies
• Current county highway map from Department of Geography, The University of Alabama